Tempesst, Notting Hill Arts Club

En route back in to town from a long weekend in the country, I had a text from a girlfriend asking if I was free for a gig. ‘...Always’.

You know when I said I was a fan of the Notting Hill Arts Club…well clearly I was a novice, as prior to last night I had not ventured down to Communion's night of unsigned acts, headlined by Racing Glaciers and supported by Amy Yon, Daiv, Haunt the Woods, Tempesst and Pleasure Beach, followed by Radio X’s Ross Buchanan on the decks.

Chilled beers and good vibes.

Daiv

Hailing from Manchester, the 4-piece look young, but maybe that’s just me getting old. This, their dabut London performance, saw some exceptional guitar playing and seriously mellow Stereophonics vibes.

Haunt the Woods

An ‘alternative folk rock band’ resembling the young Hanson brothers (sorry guys you must get that from everyone). A unique sound - must be something to do with that Cornish air when growing up in the south west. A merging of traditional and modern folk music, the harmonies are on point and, as with Daiv, we were treated to another fucking glorious delivery of the guitar. The drummer too was one of the smiliest I have ever seen.. Grinning to the beat of his big floppy hair. Tunes included Belter Shelter, Beautiful Catastrophe and Twisted – a eirie Katie Melua vibe meets Wuthering Heights' meets Muse… Yea… I know. Fresh out of the studio, the boys have just recorded ‘Architecture’ soon to be released. Keep smiling drummer boy.

Tempesst

Of all the bands I heard at Communion, it was Tempesst that I came away googling. However, the Autralian bred brothers aint so googlable.. having only formed 6 months ago, there isn't much content online despite having a decent following. DIY Mag described them as ‘giving nods to early Fleet Foxes with its lush, grandiose opening, then revealing a thousand different shades - Joseph’s Technicolor Coat doesn’t have shit on this’... I would choke in to my chai tea latte at this description if the shaggy haired boys weren’t so god damn adorable. Pretty much the only song you can find online is Tidal Wave, and its a cracker... It will do the job for now, but i want MORE. Despite admitting that they were exhausted, the boys oozed charm, laughing and messing around on stage. Basically they're fucking good. Check them out.

Pleasure Beach

Yet more long haired boys gracing the stage...

Ok so any band that smashes out a Springsteen song mid set is a-ok in my book. Do it well, and your on to a winner. I was fucking delighted when a slightly modified version of ‘I’m on Fire’ came mid set with no introduction booming from this Belfast band. ‘Go’ was also a cracker. Oh and the drummer had hair straight outta Footloose...slash might be Brian May's daughter? Beaut.

Racing Glaciers

Three summers of vibrant live performances have now passed since Racing Glaciers progressive sound began as a home recording project between friends. I nearly spilt my Pilsner when Radio X’s DJ, Ross Buchanan, whispered that the next drummer looked like Jonny Depp. After 10 weeks in the studio recording the forthcoming album, the boys are off on a whopping 31 date tour of the UK... watch this space... slash the links below.